A nicely restored example of this fusion of stylish Sunbeam Alpine with American V8 muscle
Despite this it retains great originality, remaining faithful to the factory specification
A well-maintained car with a good deal of accompanying paperwork
The Appeal
The Sunbeam Tiger is closely based on the Sunbeam Alpine, the popular Rootes Group roadster that gained popularity after featuring in “Dr No,” the first James Bond film from 1962. The Tiger was partly conceived and designed by Caroll Shelby who had successfully and similarly beefed up the AC Ace to become the iconic Cobra.
The same formula was employed with the Tiger, with Shelby shoe-horning a Ford 260 cu in V8 under the Alpine’s sloping bonnet. This adaptation endowed the Tiger with twice the power of the Alpine but only resulted in a weight increase of a mere 20%.
The Tiger’s interior has benefited from a retrim during its previous ownership
As such it presents in excellent overall condition
The seats are trimmed in black leather and piped in bright red
They are box pleated for additional comfort and support
The door cards are trimmed in black and feature chromed door furniture
The black carpets have also been replaced and appear to be in excellent condition
The dashboard panel is faced with walnut veneer with black leather panels to top and bottom
A number of original Jaeger white on black gauges populate the dash
A “Shelby” branded Mota-Lita wood and alloy steering wheel is fitted
A carpeted luggage shelf behind the seats provides valuable additional storage
The Tiger is complete with a hardtop which is trimmed with a well-fitted headlining
The boot contains the spare wheel and battery and is finished off with a vinyl covered removeable floor panel
The Tiger’s interior will seem pretty familiar to any Sunbeam Alpine owners. It is almost identical which is no bad thing as they both evoke the spirit of British sports car ownership of the mid to late 1060’s.
The mixture of leather, walnut veneer and numerous white on black Jaeger gauges are all signature styling cues of British sporting cars of this period. This example wears its pre-2016 restoration very well with the interior being in excellent condition throughout.
The exterior of the Tiger is finished in bright “Firebrand Red,” an official Rootes shade
It is believed that the car underwent a profession respray in its original colour in pre-2016
The paintwork seems to be in great condition exhibiting a deep and lustrous shine
The bodywork appears to be well presented with panel gaps appearing tight and parallel
The chrome of the bumpers, door handles, wing mirrors and trim pieces all appears to be bright and shiny
Period-correct Minilite, 14 x 6 inch alloy wheels are fitted
The wheels appear to be in excellent overall condition
The wheels are fitted with Matador, radial type tyres in the correct 175/70 configuration
All the correct Tiger specification badges appear to be present
A body-coloured hard top is included together with a stand
Long, twin chromed tail pipes help differentiate this car from its humbler Alpine sibling
This Tiger looks every inch the business-like, powerhouse of a roadster that it is. All the Tiger cues are there for the aficionados, from the Minilite alloys to the twin tail pipes and the appropriate badging. The badges include the “powered by Ford” item on the boot lid and the “260” articles on the boot lid and both wings. This refers to the capacity of the Ford V8 in cubic inches.
The Firebrand Red paintwork is surely the best choice for the Tiger. It’s loud and brash and signals the car’s true sporting potential. Make no mistake, this is a car that will turn heads and raise smiles in equal measure.3Q6deeoJW5DpvNiG4WCAtjZAvwkXPYRcZ731reww.jpeg1.28 MB
The Mechanics
The MKI tiger is fitted with a 4.3L Ford V8 engine
This unit was quite modestly tuned, originally producing around 165bhp
The Tiger remained a light car at around 1,200 kgs giving the car a healthy performance
Power is fed to the rear wheels via a four-speed Ford manual gearbox
Surprisingly few other mechanical upgrades were required over the Alpine
Bigger brakes and uprated front suspension were fitted however
This car was understood to have undergone a mechanical recommissioning in its previous ownership
The current owner reports that all mechanical systems are in good working order
Whilst the Tiger’s Ford V8 was huge by British engine norms of the time it was, thankfully, quite a light unit. This meant that the weight penalty paid by the Tiger over the Alpine was modest indeed. This helped make the Tiger a feisty performer by the standards of the day.
Contemporary road tests delivered 0-60 mph times in the mid eight seconds area and a top speed in excess of 120 mph. That was pretty impressive for its day and more akin to some of the hot-hatch heroes of the 1980’s.
Although around 7,000 Tigers were originally built, records suggest only around 300 remain in use in the UK today. This makes the Tiger a rare commodity and, given its interesting Shelby provenance, this is likely to push prices ever upwards.
There isn’t much not to like about this bright red example of the breed, either. It presents really well and has enjoyed a high-quality restoration in the relatively recent past. It remains really faithful to Caroll Shelby’s original concept too. Don’t miss the opportunity to own a fine example of this impressive British and American automotive collaboration.
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